A Landscape Regains Its Freedom

Dense beech forests, quiet valleys, clear streams, and sweeping views across forested hills: The Eifel is one of the most diverse natural landscapes in western Germany. Stretching between North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Belgian border, this low mountain range region has long been shaped by forestry, agriculture, and military use.

Today, a remarkable transformation is taking place here. In the Eifel National Park, nature is once again allowed to develop largely without human intervention across ever-larger areas. Former commercial forests are slowly transforming into near-natural habitats, while new ecological opportunities are emerging on land formerly used for military purposes.

It is precisely this process that makes the region appealing for sustainable travel. The Eifel demonstrates that nature conservation does not always mean preserving an untouched landscape. Sometimes the greater challenge lies in giving an intensively used landscape the opportunity to regenerate.

A National Park with a Unique History

The Eifel National Park was established in 2004 and covers approximately 110 square kilometers. It is North Rhine-Westphalia’s first national park and primarily protects beech forests, oak forests, stream valleys, and open-land habitats.

What makes it unique is the history of many of its areas. For decades, forests were used for commercial purposes, and some were planted with fast-growing conifers. Other areas were part of the former Vogelsang military training area.

The establishment of the national park marked the beginning of a long-term process of change. Forests that are far removed from their natural state are being gradually transformed into near-natural forests. In suitable areas, natural processes are to increasingly take their course without forestry interventions.

The goal is not to create a perfect forest as quickly as possible. Rather, the aim is to allow a diverse forest landscape to develop over decades and centuries, in which old trees, deadwood, natural clearings, and different stages of development coexist.

Hiking Through a Changing Landscape

The Eifel offers excellent conditions for a hiking vacation close to nature. The Wilderness Trail, which winds its way through the national park in four stages, is particularly well-known. The route, which is about 85 kilometers long, connects a variety of landscapes and provides an in-depth look at the development of the protected area.

Along the way, dense forests, open hills, and quiet stream valleys alternate. The beech forests, which are part of the natural forest communities found across much of Central Europe, are particularly impressive.

Those with less time will find numerous shorter loop trails and nature trails. Guided tours led by national park rangers also offer the opportunity to gain a better understanding of ecological relationships.

It’s not just about rare animal species or unusual plants. Often, it’s the seemingly unremarkable things that make up the value of a natural forest: a dead tree trunk teeming with insects, young beech trees growing in the shade of old trees, or a stream that winds its own way.

Vogelsang – From a Military Base to a Learning Center

The former Nazi Ordensburg Vogelsang plays a special role. The complex was built during the Nazi regime and was used for military purposes for decades after World War II. The surrounding area was part of a large military training area.

Today, Vogelsang IP is an international hub for education, community engagement, and remembrance. The historical examination of the Nazi past is just as important as the development of the surrounding landscape.

Valuable open-land habitats have been preserved on parts of the former military base. These areas provide habitat for specialized plants and animals and differ significantly from the adjacent forests.

This example illustrates just how complex nature conservation can be. While natural development is the priority in many forested areas, some open habitats require targeted management to prevent them from becoming completely overgrown with shrubs.

In this context, sustainability means understanding various environmental requirements and acting accordingly.

Getting There and Getting Around – Discovering the Eifel Without a Car

The national park region is accessible by public transportation from Cologne, Bonn, and Aachen. Train stations such as Kall and Heimbach serve as starting points for continuing the journey via regional bus routes.

The national park is also part of the regional hiking trail network. This makes it possible to combine different hikes with bus and train travel without having to return to the starting point.

Of particular interest are itineraries that allow hikers to complete individual stages and then continue their journey by public transportation.

However, transportation in rural areas remains a challenge. Not every starting point is equally accessible, and some routes operate on a limited schedule. Careful planning is therefore an essential part of a car-free trip.

Making public transportation attractive and easy to use—not only for locals but also for vacationers—will be crucial, especially for the future of sustainable vacation destinations.

Wildlife and the Restoration of Natural Habitats

The development of near-natural forests also improves the living conditions of many animal species in the long term.

Wildcats are among the best-known inhabitants of the Eifel. These shy animals need forested areas rich in structural diversity with plenty of places to hide. Black storks, woodpeckers, bats, and numerous insect species also benefit from suitable habitats.

Deadwood plays an important role in this process. While dead trees are often removed from commercial forests, they are left lying on the ground or standing in natural forest ecosystems. There, they serve as habitats for fungi, beetles, and other organisms.

This can sometimes seem unusual to visitors. A forest with fallen trees and dead trunks appears less tidy than a traditional forest. Ecologically, however, it can be significantly more diverse.

This insight, in particular, is one of the national park’s most important messages: A healthy forest doesn’t have to look neat.

Accommodations and Regional Cuisine

There are small hotels, guesthouses, vacation rentals, and family-run inns scattered around the national park. Towns such as Heimbach, Schleiden, and Gemünd serve as ideal starting points for hikes and nature excursions.

If you want to travel sustainably, you can specifically look for accommodations that use locally sourced food, operate in a resource-efficient manner, and provide information on car-free transportation options.

The cuisine of the Eifel is also closely tied to its rural history. Potato dishes, regional meat and sausage specialties, bread, and seasonal vegetables are the hallmarks of traditional Eifel cuisine.

Farm stands and small-scale producers allow visitors to discover local foods. Especially in rural areas with weaker economic structures, tourism can thus create additional economic opportunities.

In this context, sustainable travel doesn't just mean minimizing the impact on nature. It can also help preserve local businesses and jobs.

Sustainability Factor – When Doing Nothing Becomes a Strategy

The Eifel National Park embodies an unusual form of sustainability. While many environmental projects focus on actively shaping nature, a key goal here is to reduce human impact over the long term.

Forests should be allowed to age, trees to die naturally, and new generations to grow without constant management. This creates diverse structures that are often lacking in intensively managed commercial forests.

However, this process takes time. A forest that has been used for commercial purposes for decades or centuries cannot be transformed into a near-natural habitat within just a few years.

That is precisely why the national park is also a project for future generations. Many of the ecological changes being set in motion today will not be fully apparent for decades.

This presents a unique opportunity for tourism. Visitors can not only experience beautiful scenery but also learn about a long-term ecological development process.

Sometimes, nature needs time above all else

The Eifel National Park is not among Germany's most spectacular landscapes. It has no towering three-thousand-meter peaks and no famous glaciers. Its special appeal lies in its more subtle changes.

Former commercial forests are evolving into more diverse habitats. Former military sites are taking on new roles in nature conservation and education. At the same time, surrounding communities are benefiting from tourism that not only makes use of nature but also makes its protection a central part of the experience.

Anyone hiking through the forests of the Eifel therefore experiences more than just a beautiful low-mountain landscape. They discover a region that demonstrates how ecological recovery is possible when natural processes are given room to resume.

Perhaps the most important insight is this: Not every landscape needs to be constantly shaped, maintained, or used for economic purposes. Sometimes, the most sustainable decision is simply to give nature time.

More information: https://www.nationalpark-eifel.de/de/

Next Episode: East Tyrol—The Quiet Side of the Alps, nestled between the Hohe Tauern National Park, traditional mountain villages, and sustainable mountain tourism.

While the Amazon is at the center of the global climate debate, there is a vast forest region in the Northern Hemisphere whose importance is often underestimated. The boreal forests, also known as the taiga, cover about 27 percent of the world’s forest area. They are among the largest carbon sinks on our planet and play a crucial role in the global climate. However, rising temperatures, wildfires, and thawing permafrost are threatening this unique ecosystem.

A green belt around the Earth

From Alaska through Canada and Scandinavia to Siberia, an almost continuous belt of coniferous forests stretches around the northern hemisphere. The boreal forests cover approximately 1.2 billion hectares and form one of the largest contiguous forest ecosystems on Earth.

The climate is characterized by long, freezing winters and short summers. Temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius are not uncommon in some regions. Under these extreme conditions, spruce, pine, and larch trees predominate, with occasional birch and other deciduous trees.

Because the growing season is short, the trees grow much more slowly than in tropical rainforests. Nevertheless, over the course of millennia, they form a vast ecosystem that is of great importance to the stability of our climate.

The greatest treasure lies beneath the ground

While tropical rainforests store enormous amounts of carbon in their lush vegetation, a significant portion of the carbon stocks in boreal forests is located below the earth's surface.

In cold regions, dead plant matter decomposes only slowly. As a result, organic material accumulates in the soil over thousands of years. Peatlands and permanently frozen soils—known as permafrost—in particular store enormous amounts of carbon.

A study published in 2025 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe underscores the extraordinary importance of these forests: According to the study, boreal forest ecosystems account for approximately 32 percent of global terrestrial carbon stocks.

This means that these forests are far more than just a collection of trees. They form a massive natural carbon sink, the preservation of which is crucial for global climate protection.

When Climate Change Alters Forests

Ironically, the very regions that store so much carbon are particularly sensitive to rising temperatures.

In large parts of the northern latitudes, warming is proceeding at a faster rate than the global average. Higher temperatures are altering the growing conditions for trees, creating favorable conditions for pests, and may increase the risk of large-scale wildfires.

The thawing of permafrost is particularly problematic. When previously frozen organic material thaws, microorganisms can break it down. This process produces carbon dioxide and, under certain conditions, methane as well.

In addition, wildfires can penetrate deep into carbon-rich soil layers. Unlike a typical surface wildfire, this not only destroys vegetation but also releases carbon that has been stored there, in some cases, for thousands of years.

This creates a dangerous cycle: Global warming is altering the boreal forests, which can lead to the release of additional greenhouse gases that, in turn, contribute to further warming.

Habitat for Rare Animal Species

In addition to their importance for the climate, boreal forests are home to a remarkable variety of wildlife.

Moose, brown bears, wolves, lynx, and reindeer are typical inhabitants of these regions. The wolverine, one of the strongest members of the weasel family, also calls this area home.

Many of these species require vast, largely undisturbed landscapes. Increasing development—including roads, resource extraction, and intensive forestry—can fragment their habitats.

The taiga is also home to numerous indigenous communities whose culture, traditional way of life, and economic livelihood are closely tied to these landscapes.

Protecting them is therefore not only an environmental responsibility but also a social one.

Why the North Deserves More Attention

The protection of tropical rainforests has been one of the central issues in international conservation for decades. Boreal forests, on the other hand, are much less frequently the focus of public attention.

Yet both ecosystems are essential to the Earth.

Sustainable management, the protection of particularly carbon-rich peatlands and old-growth forests, and the mitigation of global warming are among the most important measures for preserving the taiga's functions in the long term.

At the same time, a nuanced perspective is necessary. In many boreal regions, wildfires are part of the natural ecological cycle. The situation becomes particularly problematic when the frequency, intensity, and extent of the fires change to such an extent that ecosystems can no longer regenerate sufficiently.

An Underestimated Key to Climate Protection

The boreal forests are a striking example of how climate protection isn't just about planting new trees.

It is at least as important to preserve existing ecosystems and their carbon sinks, which have developed over thousands of years.

While tropical rainforests impress with their biodiversity and lush vegetation, the true strength of boreal forests often lies hidden beneath the earth's surface.

Their greatest value lies not only in how much carbon they can absorb in the future, but also in the enormous amounts they have already stored.

Protecting these forests is therefore one of the major—and, until now, often underestimated—tasks of global climate protection.

Heat waves are no longer exceptional weather events. But a new international data analysis reveals a trend that has even caught the attention of experienced climate researchers: Extreme heat is spreading across ever-larger areas and can last for months. While in the 1960s there were on average only about five particularly widespread heat events per year, there have already been around 102 in the current decade. Researchers and data journalists are referring to a new phenomenon: so-called heat storms.

A Reuters investigation published on October 20, 2026, analyzed global temperature data dating back to 1960. The findings highlight how significantly the frequency, extent, and duration of extreme heat events have changed.

When Heat Waves Turn into Heat Storms

Until now, heat waves have generally been viewed as regional events affecting individual countries or continents. However, exceptionally high temperatures are increasingly occurring simultaneously in regions far apart from one another.

To highlight this trend, data journalists, in collaboration with climate scientists, have introduced a new category: the heat storm.

By this, they mean an exceptionally large-scale heat wave that lasts at least five days and, at its peak, covers at least one percent of the Earth's surface. That is roughly half the area of Canada.

It is important to note that the term “heat storm” does not refer to a storm in the meteorological sense. It is a new analytical term for particularly widespread heat events.

The figures show a dramatic trend

For the study, hourly temperature data from more than one million geographic grid cells were evaluated. The analysis covers a period of more than six decades.

Key findings:

In the 1960s, an average of about five active heat storms were recorded each year.
In the current decade, this figure has already risen to about 102 per year.
According to this new calculation, the frequency has thus increased approximately twentyfold.
Particularly large-scale events can span multiple continents and persist for exceptionally long periods.
Global warming is contributing to the increasing extent and frequency of such heat events.

The figures are based on a newly developed analysis method and are therefore not directly comparable with previous official heat wave statistics. Nevertheless, they reveal a remarkable long-term trend.

A heat storm sweeping across nearly the entire globe

A particularly striking example is provided by the event that the researchers refer to as “Vera.”

This extraordinary heatwave began in late July 2023 and lasted a total of 367 days. During that time, it covered approximately 85 percent of the Earth's surface, according to the calculations used.

This does not mean that life-threatening temperatures prevailed everywhere at the same time. Rather, unusually high temperatures—compared to the respective local historical averages—were recorded in numerous regions over an extended period.

Nevertheless, the effects were significant. Extreme heat took a toll on people, agriculture, and natural ecosystems across several continents.

A particular problem is that such events no longer necessarily last just a few days. When heat waves stretch on for weeks or months, many places lack the necessary recovery periods.

Why the Rising Temperatures Are Dangerous

High temperatures do not only affect personal well-being. They can simultaneously put pressure on entire economic sectors and ecosystems.

For agriculture, prolonged heat waves mean increased water demand, higher evaporation rates, and potential crop losses. Forests suffer from drought stress and become more vulnerable to pests and fires.

Water bodies are also sensitive. Rising water temperatures can reduce oxygen levels and threaten the survival of fish and other aquatic organisms.

In cities, impervious surfaces and a lack of vegetation further exacerbate the problem. Older adults, children, and people who do physical labor outdoors are particularly at risk.

When extreme heat waves strike several key agricultural regions at the same time, the consequences can extend beyond national borders. Crop failures, rising food prices, and increased water demand then become international challenges.

What this means for Europe

Europe is also among the regions where rising temperatures are already clearly noticeable. The Mediterranean region in particular, but also Central Europe, are affected by more frequent and intense heat waves.

For Austria, this means increasing demands on the protection of the population, the water supply, agriculture, and the preservation of healthy forests.

Cities need more green spaces, shade, and natural cooling. Buildings must be better protected against overheating in the summer. At the same time, the sustainable use of available water resources is becoming increasingly important.

However, adaptation measures alone are not enough in the long term. Limiting further global warming through a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions remains crucial.

A New Dimension of Climate Change

The international analysis makes it clear that we should not focus solely on individual temperature records. It is also becoming increasingly important to consider how widespread and long-lasting extreme heat events are.

The term “heat storm” is intended to help make this trend easier to understand and to draw attention to a risk that has been underestimated until now.

While storms, floods, and wildfires cause immediately visible damage, the danger posed by extreme heat often develops gradually.

The new data illustrate just how much climatic conditions have changed in the space of a few decades.

The challenge, therefore, is not just to cope with individual hot summers. It is increasingly about making entire regions more resilient to prolonged and widespread heat.

Climate change is thus evident not only in rising average temperatures, but also in a new scale of extreme weather events.

Agriculture depends on a reliable supply of nutrients. Phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium, for example, are essential for agricultural production. However, natural reserves are limited, vary greatly by region, or require significant amounts of energy to extract. Fertilizers derived from resource-oriented sanitation systems (ROS) offer a sustainable alternative to conventional fertilizers, as a recent study shows. This opens up new options for sustainable agriculture and, at the same time, new applications for human waste products.

A research team has focused on this processing method, compiling—for the first time—extensive international data on various ROS-based recycled fertilizers for a recent study published in the journal *Frontiers in Environmental Science*. For 13 types of recycled fertilizers, there was sufficient data to characterize their properties in detail. Many of these can be classified into known categories of mineral, organic, or organic-mineral fertilizers in terms of nutrient composition and function. The results show that the recycled products are just as effective agronomically as conventional fertilizers.

No Second-Rate Fertilizer: Quality and Effectiveness Are What Matter

“Our findings provide an important scientific basis for practical application, as they show that recycled fertilizers derived from separately collected material streams are not second-class fertilizers,” says Martina Winker of the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), a co-author of the study. “What matters is what properties a fertilizer has for the specific agricultural application, not whether it comes from a conventional or a recycled material stream.”

Research is now being conducted worldwide to determine how well these ROS fertilizers work and what requirements they must meet. “For the study, we compiled more than 450 data sets from over 200 sources across 32 countries and analyzed them at the product level. Our findings on individual fertilizer products show that nutrient recycling from human waste has long been a topic of scientific research at the international level,” says Ariane Krause of the Network for Sustainable Sanitation (NetSan), who is also a co-author of the study. “Until now, however, there has been no comprehensive overview of the wide variety of products, processes, and application conditions. We wanted to highlight what can actually be deduced from this broad body of evidence and where gaps in knowledge still exist.”

Nutrient content depends on the raw materials and processing methods

The nutrients contained in a ROS fertilizer—as well as their form and concentration—depend largely on the raw material and the specific processing method used. Physical and chemical properties such as pH, salinity, and organic matter content also vary among products and influence their potential applications.

The picture is more nuanced when it comes to potential contaminants. Overall, the concentrations of heavy metals measured were predominantly low and comparable to those found in established fertilizers. The raw materials and processing conditions are particularly critical for ensuring food safety. For organic contaminants such as pharmaceutical residues or PFAS, however, the data is still incomplete and does not yet allow for a similarly comprehensive assessment across all product groups.

Yield comparable to that achieved with mineral fertilizers

From a practical agricultural perspective, the key question is whether recycled fertilizers can match the yield of conventional fertilizers. The decisive factor here is not only the chemical composition, but also whether the nutrients they contain are actually available to the plants. For the study, fertilizer efficacy was determined using a quantitative meta-analysis of 134 data sets from 68 sources, including 31 crop species as well as field, pot, and hydroponic trials.

Across all the recycled fertilizers studied, no systematic yield disadvantage was observed compared to mineral fertilizers; yields were generally significantly higher than those of the unfertilized control treatments. However, the specific effect depends, among other factors, on the form of the nutrients, the soil, the crop, and the management practices.

From Feasibility to Application

For several well-studied recycled fertilizers, the findings shift the central question from feasibility to application: The issue is no longer simply whether high-quality fertilizers can be produced from resource-based sanitation systems. It is becoming more important to determine how suitable products can be reliably characterized and integrated into existing agricultural and regulatory systems with quality assurance.

“The real challenge in establishing ROS fertilizers is no longer simply whether a particular process works from a technical standpoint, but how it can be practically integrated into existing quality assurance and regulatory processes,” says Martina Winker of ISOE. “To do this, we need comparable testing methods, robust quality criteria, and an organizational framework that takes the actual properties of the products into account.”

Lack of a Legal Framework

According to the study’s authors, there is a particular need for action regarding the legal framework. While the recovery of phosphorus from sewage sludge and sewage sludge incineration ash is already regulated in the conventional wastewater system, comparable agricultural utilization and approval pathways are currently lacking for resource-oriented sanitation systems.

“If we truly want to close nutrient cycles, the legal framework must not only take into account the recovery of phosphorus at the end of the conventional wastewater system,” says Ariane Krause of NetSan. “Recycled fertilizer from resource-oriented sanitation systems should also be able to be used regularly, subject to clear quality and safety requirements. The quality of the product should be the deciding factor—not the origin of the raw material.”

To the study

The study “Recycling fertilizers from resource-oriented sanitation systems: product-level characterization and meta-analysis of agronomic performance” was published in *Frontiers in Environmental Science*, with Corinna Schröder as the lead author, along with Franziska Häfner, Ariane Krause, Moritz Hallama, and Martina Winker. The study involved the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), the Network for Sustainable Sanitation Systems (NetSan) e.V., the Leibniz Institute for Horticultural Science (IGZ) e.V., Agroscope in Switzerland, and the University of Girona in Spain. The study was conducted as part of the MARA project, based at NetSan and funded by the Heidehof Foundation. The project was carried out in close cooperation with the Agricultural Use Working Group of the DWA Technical Committee KA-1 “NASS – Resource-Oriented Sanitation Systems.”

Link

Original publication:
Schröder, C., Häfner, F., Krause, A., Hallama, M., & Winker, M. (2026): Recycling fertilizers from resource-oriented sanitation systems: product-level characterization and meta-analysis of agronomic performance. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 14:1843173. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1843173

Although enough food is produced worldwide, hundreds of millions of people suffer from hunger. World Food Day on October 16 draws attention to this issue. The 2026 Global Hunger Index reveals an alarming trend: after two decades of steady progress, the food security situation in many countries has deteriorated significantly since 2018. The climate crisis is exacerbating the situation for many people. In numerous regions around the world, severe droughts, crop failures, and floods are looming in the coming months. Countries in Africa, where many people already lack sufficient food, are particularly at risk. A super El Niño has been forecast for this year, and record levels have already been reached.

According to the UN World Food Report (July 2026), 645 million people suffer from hunger. The situation is particularly dire in Africa, where one in five people is affected. For nearly one-third of the world’s population, a healthy diet is unaffordable.

However, there are significant regional differences: While the situation has improved in parts of Asia, the epicenter of global hunger has increasingly shifted to Africa. Africa is now home to 48 percent of the world’s hungry people; in 2010, that figure was 28 percent. Progress in the fight against hunger is fragile, but it is possible.

“This is a disaster in the making,” warns Maria Katharina Moser, director of Diakonie Austria. According to forecasts by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), El Niño could cause at least 49 million more people to be affected by acute food insecurity by the end of 2027.

“For millions of people, hunger is already a bitter reality. El Niño will make the situation even worse. When rains fail or floods destroy entire fields, families lose their entire livelihood. Many are already suffering from the negative effects of climate change, which hits hardest those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis.”

Maria Katharina Moser, Director of Diakonie Austria

The 2026 World Hunger Index (WHI) confirms an alarming reversal of the trend

Regions south of the Sahara are particularly affected

The theme for World Food Day 2026 is “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.”

This year, World Food Day is focusing on innovative approaches as the key to greater food security. The goal is to promote technologies that help effectively reduce hunger and make food systems more resilient.

“World Food Day serves as a reminder that innovation is a powerful driver of global food security. Together with the Austrian Development Agency, we are investing in bold innovations and promising initiatives that address critical challenges in emergency response and food systems—including in some of the world’s most fragile regions,” says Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the WFP Innovation Accelerator.

Among the ideas supported by the WFP’s Innovation Accelerator is, for example, a dosing device for grain mills in Africa that automatically mixes essential nutrients—such as vitamins and minerals—into the flour. This ensures that people receive more nutrient-rich staple foods directly through their daily diet, helping to reduce malnutrition. Another project trains WFP staff to operate special all-terrain vehicles. This ensures that relief supplies reach affected people reliably, even during floods and in hard-to-reach regions.

Post-harvest losses also pose a major challenge to food security. To reduce these losses, the Innovation Accelerator supports solutions that better protect food from spoilage and help smallholder farmers preserve more of their harvest—for example, by using special airtight storage bags.